WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A DEAD JESUS? Romans 7:15-8:17

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1 What Difference Does It Make? North Coast Church Message #4 Pastor Chris Brown Romans 7:15-8:17 May 13-14, 2006 Looking Back: Acts 1:1-5 WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A DEAD JESUS? Romans 7:15-8:17 Jesus gave His life for me, in order to take my life from me, so He could live His life through me. Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Mark 8:34-37 The Struggle We All Face: Romans 7:15-25 We don t need more desire or knowledge, we need power! Romans 7:15-20 Following the rules in my own power produces a Pharisee or failure. Romans 7:21-24 Bottom Line: The law does not defeat sin, it simply detects sin. The Solution We All Need: Romans 8:1-17 The battleground is in the mind. Romans 8:1-5, 12:1-2, Colossians 3:5-10 Every day is a series of choices. Galatians 5:16-24, Matthew 16:22-23, Romans 6:4-8 Don t cloud the water. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, Ephesians 4:29-32

2 Growth Group Homework For the week of May 14, 2006 QUICK REVIEW: Was there one point from this week s sermon that particularly caught your attention, challenged you or confused you more than the other points? MY STORY 1. This weekend Chris said, Jesus gave His life for me, in order to take my life from me, so that He could live His life through me. What about this statement caught your attention the most and why? 2. During this series we ve learned about the Holy Spirit and how He can work in us and through us. Perhaps the series has also raised some questions for you. If you could ask God one question about the Holy Spirit, what would you ask Him? DIGGING DEEPER 1. In Romans 7, Paul is extremely open about his struggles in living the Christian life. Re-read Romans 7:15-25 and then answer the following questions. Romans 7:15-25 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. [16] And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. [17] As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. [18] I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. [19] For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. [20] Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. [21] So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. [22] For in my inner being I delight in God's law; [23] but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. [24]

3 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Is there anything surprising to you about Paul s struggles? Are there any situations or circumstances in your life where you experience the same battle as Paul did? Was there anything you heard in the sermon that would be helpful to you in winning this battle? 2. Pastor Chris talked about the ongoing struggle we all face in trying to consistently live in freedom from the sinful nature. What insights about our freedom and the responsibility that comes with it do you see in the following verses? Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:13-15 You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. [14] The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." [15] If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. John 8:31-36 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. [32] Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." [33] They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" [34] Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. [35] Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. [36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 3. Galatians 5:22-23 contains a list of nine qualities that are called the fruit of the Spirit. Often we focus too much on what our part is in producing this fruit. What insights into your role in bearing fruit do you see in the following quote? Galatians 5:22-23

4 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. I believe there is a reason Paul listed these virtues and moved on. They aren t given to us as goals to pursue. Why? Because you and I cannot produce fruit.that s not our responsibility. The Holy Spirit is the producer. We are merely the bearers. The fruit of the Spirit was never intended to be a demonstration of our dedication and resolve. It is the evidence of our dependency on and sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit. Charles Stanley in The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life How does John 15:1-6 help you better understand our role, God s role, and Jesus role in fruit bearing? John 15:1-6 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. TAKING IT HOME 1. This weekend we looked at the chart below which compares what the cross and the empty tomb mean for our walk with God. Does this list change any of your perceptions about living the Christian life? THE CROSS (Redemption) His death for me Allows me to become a Christian Changes my final destination Makes heaven my home Got me out of Hell into Heaven Forgave my sins Was once for all VS THE EMPTY TOMB (Regeneration) His life in me Allows me to be the Christian I ve become Changes my destiny Makes this world His workshop Got God out of Heaven and into me Gives me power over sin Means my daily dying to self

5 2. Was there something from this week s sermon that you would particularly like to remember this coming week or would like prayer for?